College Senior Faces Kidnapping Charges

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

NORTHUMBERLAND -- A Bloomsburg University senior is facing charges of kidnapping a boy in the borough of Northumberland.

According to court papers, Katie Partridge grabbed a child off his bike last week and ran off with him, in front of a large crowd.

Queen Street in Northumberland is quiet now, but just one week earlier, police say a woman kidnapped a small child on this block.

Katie Partridge, 22, is a senior at Bloomsburg University. She faces a long list of charges, including kidnapping and aggravated assault.

"You could tell by her physical appearance that she looked really distraught and upset," Dwayne Pepper said.

Dwayne Pepper is a senior at Shikellamy High School. He and his friends saw Partridge outside his house. Pepper says Katie Partridge was watching a small boy on a bicycle.

"She started shuffling from side to side while he was riding his bike, so at that point, I thought she knows these people. But as he was riding away, she kept moving forward and then snatched him off his bicycle," Pepper said.

According to court papers, the boy's mother chased after Partridge and grabbed the child back. During the arrest, Partridge allegedly assaulted a police officer.

According to court papers, Partridge also spit in a nurse's face and caused another nurse to get stuck with a needle that had already been in Partridge's skin.

It is not clear why Partridge was in Northumberland, since she is a student at Bloomsburg University and is from the Lehigh Valley. Some people who live in Northumberland say the incident scared them.

"It keeps me looking when I see children around, making sure they're alright," David Hile said.

David Hile says he recently moved back to Northumberland after living in a big city. He says he wanted to live somewhere with less crime.

"I just wanted to come home with my children and grandchildren to nice, peaceful Pennsylvania, and it just seems like parts of the bad elements are everywhere," Hile said.

Investigators say Katie Partridge was arraigned Monday at a hospital, and once she is released, she will be taken to the Northumberland County Prison.

26 comments

friend

None of you know the real story . she went through a mental breakdown and was left in the middle of nowhere by the family she was working for as a nanny . Thats why she was in a place far away from bloomsburg cus she was abandoned by the family she worked for and probably only took the kid because she was thought she was protecting it even if she wasnt in the right frame of mind ,she was working as a NANNY before the episode happened , and her duties probably carried over into a dissociative state where she thought she was protecting the child and not hurting it .

so all of you calling for persecution to the fullest extent of the law I hope you have lived a spotless life , who are you to judge

WANDA BUSS

KoolKat

I knew this girl from high school also. She never reminded me of a violent person and from what I remember she was not involved in drugs. Of course things change but this is shocking to alot of people who knew her. However, I feel bad for the nurse stuck with a dirty needle and the little boy. She deserves to be locked up, but I also think this girl needs professional help as this seems very out of character for her.

EQ

Patrick Thomas Fallon

Its nice to know that she goes to Bloom , goes to show it can and will happen anywhere …. this situation could have been much worse, thankfully the mother was alert and responded fast and prevented any further damage …

I live on Queen st. which by the way runs through the entire town and is over 20 blocks long. there are loads of kids playing outside right now at 3:05 pm, so don’t let this article make you think Northumberland is not safe. this can and does happen anywhere. why don’t they just make an article that says 90% of children that are kidnapped are outside. that way more people will make sure to keep their kids in the house 24/7. this is a town where someone buying too many stamps at the post office is big news.

KJ

Where in the report does anyone mention drug use? That’s a very ignorant thing to say. I can understand thinking that as a possibility, sure. But to throw it out there like that – like this is the cause of drug use as if it’s a fact? That is ignorance.

Tom R

Okay, let me guess, you would prescribe medical marijuana and a lifetime of SSI Disability as a solution. You are ridiculous! Mental illness or not, this person attempted to abduct a child, and should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, period.

Psychology

Prison is NOT a place for those with mental illnesses. What treatment will she receive there? It is obvious that few have the knowledge or compassion to deal with those who are mentally ill. Thank-you Jason for talking about the elephant in the room.

Tom R

Who cares about treatment! SHE TRIED TO KIDNAP A CHILD! Mentally ill or not, she needs to be held accountable and put in jail like anyone else who kidnaps another human being. I don’t know how you people can justify no punishment for a person like this. What if this was your child that was kidnapped? Would you honestly want her to go to some treatment program, be back on the streets in no time, and not be held accountable for her actions? If your answer is yes to that question, I pray to God that you are NOT a parent.

Jessica

I went to middle school and high school with this young lady and it is very uncharacteristic of the person I knew then. I have had little contact with her since then and am unsure of the paths she’s headed down. She was, at the time I was close with her, an enthusiastic, fun-loving, compassionate and positive individual – nothing like the person being described here. My only hope is that the child involved is safe and that Katie can have help to overcome whatever inclined her to act this way. Although I share everyone’s sentiments that she deserves punishment for attempting to kidnap a child and that there is no excuse for what was done, I hope that everyone also remembers that she has a family who is just as shocked as we are. Possibly taking some time to reflect on the sensitivity of the situation could eliminate some unnecessary negativity surrounding this. Thoughts and prayers to everyone affected by this.

Lori

I don’t see why the mention of her being a Bloomsburg University student was even relevant in this story. She did not do the act in Bloomsburg so there was no point in stating where she attended college.

Skeptic

These comments are interesting. Since she’s a relatively good looking female, it’s assumed that a drug must have made her do it, or a mental break, or even that she could be protecting an abused child… yet if it was a man, he’s automatically assumed to be a pervert in need of immediate castration, torture, and execution. The courts will reflect similarly too. She’ll get probation and be sent on her merry way, while a man would be in prison for 20 years.
Double standard.
She deserves just as much public ridicule and legal punishment as anyone else.

Wow ! Now people make sure everyone is willing to step up and actually be willing to do something instead of turning your heads . Not accusing anyone but shows have proven in cases like this that are fake and being done to see if someone would help the child and people walked idly by or drove by and did nothing ! Sure that was a show but it was to prove we live in a society where people do not want to get involved . I would hope that if the mom was not there to act like she did grabbing her child that the people who saw what was happening would have acted and saved this child from this person ! We live in a crazy world but we all need to watch out for each other !!

always2sides

Yall might be correct, drugs, mental illness etc.., but Id like to hear her side of the story too.😉 Did she witness the kid being or abused, did she personally know the family…I mean we dont know the whole story yet, right?